Converted intermodal container for use as a water processing tank with process wall

ABSTRACT

An intermodal container has a roof, floor, side walls and end walls converted for use as a water processing tank, the tank walls reinforced so that the tank can be filled with water. The tank is lines with a flexible liner. On one of the walls aligned apertures are made in the liner and the wall with an inwardly facing flange surface facing into the tank. A process wall is mounted against the flange surface with fastening bolts exposed at the outside of the tank. The process wall is bolted from outside the tank so that a margin of the liner at the aperture is pinched between the process wall and the flange surface to seal it in place. Interface components are mounted and sealed at ports in the process wall to provide inputs to, and outputs from, the tank interior both above and below the design level of water in the tank.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENTS

The present application is a continuation application of and claimspriority from, U.S. application Ser. No. 14,176,134 filed Feb. 9, 2014,entitled “Converted intermodal container for use as a water processingtank”, which application claims priority under 35 USC 119(e) fromprovisional U.S. application 61/762,968 filed Feb. 11, 2013, entitled“Container conversion for water treatment tank” and from provisionalU.S. application 61/875,267 filed Sep. 9, 2013, entitled “Method ofreinforcing an intermodal container and container so reinforced”, thecontents of which applications are expressly incorporated herein intheir entirety by reference thereto.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a method of converting intermodal containersand converted containers obtained thereby. The invention has particularapplication to converted containers for use in treating wastewater.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

Water tanks are needed for a variety of purposes in the context ofwastewater treatment. Holding tanks are used for storing water before orafter it is treated. Equalization tanks are used in processes fordampening large variations in water flow rate or quality. Aeration tanksare used for stimulating aerobic breakdown of contaminants inwastewater. Membrane bioreactor (MBR) tanks are used to removecontaminants during or after aeration. Settling tanks are used to removeheavier than water solids. Filtration tanks are used for filteringwastewater. Air/water tanks, in which countercurrents of air and waterare flow over packing material, are used for air stripping of volatilecontaminants or for cooling and evaporation.

There is a requirement for easily portable tanks that can be partly orfully pre-fabricated and shipped to deployment sites. The requirementfor transporting in conventional intermodal container sizes placeslimitations on the length, footprint area and height of prefabricatedmobile units. It has been proposed that an intermodal container itselfbe used as the basis for the manufacture of a water treatment tank. Atypical intermodal container (also called shipping container, freightcontainer, ISO container, hi-cube container, box, conex box and sea can)is a standardized reusable steel box used for the storage and movementof materials and products within a global containerized intermodalfreight transport system. External lengths of containers, which eachhave a unique ISO6346 reporting mark, vary from 8 feet (2.438 m) to 56feet (17.07 m) with the most common lengths being 20 feet and 40 feet.Heights of containers compliant with ISO 6346 are from 8 feet (2.438 m)to 9 feet 6 inches (2.9 m). Widths are generally 8 feet.

Known methods for converting standard shipping containers having wallsmade of corrugated weathering steel or like materials for use in watertreatment facilities have not proven satisfactory.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided an intermodalcontainer having a roof, a floor, side walls and a first end wall, thecontainer converted for use as a tank for processing water with theroof, floor, side walls and first end wall forming a roof, floor, sidewalls and first end wall of a tank, the tank having a second end wallopposed to said first tank end wall and fixed to the container sidewalls, the tank walls reinforced for enabling the tank to hold water tobe processed, a flexible liner for containing the water to be processed,the liner supported by the floor and mounted against the tank walls, oneof the tank walls having a first aperture therein with a first marginpart of said one tank wall bounding said first aperture formed with afirst flange surface facing into the interior of the tank, the linerhaving a second aperture therein corresponding in position to theposition of the first aperture, and a first process wall detachablymounted to the first flange surface, with a second margin of theflexible liner bounding the second aperture sandwiched between a firstboundary part of the mounted first process wall and the first flangesurface, and a first plurality of interface components mounted andsealed at ports in the first process wall to provide inputs to, andoutputs from, the tank interior.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements illustrated in thefollowing figures are not drawn to common scale. For example, thedimensions of some of the elements are exaggerated relative to otherelements for clarity. Advantages, features and characteristics of thepresent invention, as well as methods, operation and functions ofrelated elements of structure, and the combinations of parts andeconomies of manufacture, will become apparent upon consideration of thefollowing description and claims with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, all of which form a part of the specification, wherein likereference numerals designate corresponding parts in the various figures,and wherein:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view from the front and one side of a convertedintermodal container according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is an isometric view from the rear and the other side of theconverted intermodal container of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an exploded isometric view of part of a reinforcingarrangement according to an embodiment of the invention and used in aconverted intermodal container.

FIG. 4 is a horizontal sectional view of the reinforcing arrangement ofFIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a process wall for installation in areinforced intermodal container end wall according to an embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the process wall of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is an isometric view of the process wall of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional view through a reinforced intermodalcontainer showing, according to an embodiment of the invention, processwall arrangements at each end of the container.

FIG. 9 is an isometric view of the process wall of FIG. 5 showing theprocess wall installed at one end of a converted intermodal containeraccording to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 10 is scrap sectional view showing the manner of attachment of theprocess wall in the converted intermodal container according to anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 11 is a detail exploded view showing the manner of attachment ofthe process wall in the converted intermodal container according to anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 12 is a view from below of the roof of a converted intermodalcontainer showing locations of suspension assemblies according to anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 13 is a detail vertical sectional view showing a part of aconverted intermodal container roof and an upper part of a suspensionassembly according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 14 is an isometric view of part of a lower part of a suspensionassembly according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 15 is an exploded isometric view showing elements of the suspensionassembly part of FIG. 14.

FIG. 16 is a vertical sectional view of the suspension assembly part ofFIG. 14.

FIG. 17 is a part section view of a suspension assembly according to anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 18 is a side view of one form of a converted intermodal containersupport arrangement according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 19 is an isometric view of part of the support arrangement of FIG.18.

FIG. 20 is a detail view of the base of the support arrangement of FIG.18.

FIG. 21 is a side view of another form of a converted intermodalcontainer support arrangement according to an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 22 is an isometric view of part of the support arrangement of FIG.21.

FIG. 23 is a detail view of the base of the support arrangement of FIG.21 from one end.

FIG. 24 is a detail view of the base of the support arrangement of FIG.21 from one side.

FIG. 25 is an isometric view of a flexible liner according to anembodiment of the invention, the liner for use in a reinforcedintermodal container.

FIG. 26 is a plan view of a stock flexible liner material blank for usein making the liner of FIG. 25.

FIG. 27 is a detail sectional view showing a join configuration betweena liner tub part and a liner cap part, the liner parts together forminga liner for a converted intermodal container according to an embodimentof the invention.

FIG. 28 is detail isometric view from below of the join configuration ofFIG. 27

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION INCLUDING THE PRESENTLY PREFERREDEMBODIMENTS

As shown in the isometric illustrations of a reinforced intermodalcontainer 2 in FIGS. 1 and 2, the container is basically a box made fromweathering sheet steel having side walls 4, end doors 6, a rear wall 8,a floor 10 and a roof 12. Such containers are also known as shipping orfreight containers and are conventionally used for the storage andmovement of materials and products within a global containerizedintermodal freight transport system. “Intermodal” indicates that thecontainer can be moved from one mode of transport to another (e.g. fromship, to rail, to truck) without unloading and reloading the contents ofthe container.

Under ISO 6346 standard, the length of a container may be any of a rangeof external lengths each corresponding to an ISO 6346 reporting mark.Such lengths may vary from 8 feet (2.438 m) to 56 feet (17.07 m) withthe most common lengths being 20 feet and 40 feet. Heights of containerscompliant with ISO 6346 are from 8 feet (2.438 m) to 9 feet 6 inches(2.9 m). Widths are generally 8 feet.

As shown in the detail isometric view of FIG. 3 and the detail sectionalview of FIG. 4, container walls are made of corrugated weathering sheetsteel having a thickness of the order of a sixteenth of an inch. Thewalls have in sequence along their length, alternating outboard andinboard panels, respectively 14 and 16, each outboard panel integrallyjoined to its adjacent inboard panels by sloping web portions. Thepanels extend from the bottom to the top of the intermodal container.While the corrugated wall formation provides some strength againstlateral and vertical forces, if an unreinforced container is filled withwater, the corrugation simply expands like an accordion. The walls arethen incapable of offering resistance to the lateral forces imposed bythe contained water and the container will consequently bow outwards andburst. FIGS. 3 and 4 show one configuration for reinforcing a containerwall so that the container may be used for processing water or otherliquids.

Referring in detail to FIGS. 3 and 4, there is shown part of the wall ofa reinforced intermodal container. The wall is reinforced by welding areinforcing structure to the inside of the wall, the reinforcingstructure including a sheet steel panel 20 having a thickness of theorder of one eighth of an inch and channel form stiffeners 22 made ofcold-formed steel plate of the order of quarter inch in materialthickness. The channel member 22 has walls 24, 26 bridged by flange 28.The channel members 22 are welded to each outboard panel 14 with a wall24 of each channel member flat against the interior surface of anoutboard panel 14 of the container wall. The width of flange 28 is suchthat the walls 26 and the inboard panels 16 of the corrugated containerwall are essentially coplanar and so form a platform to which the sheetsteel panel 20 is fixed. The sheet steel panel 20 is welded to the walls26 of the channel members 22 after the channel members have been weldedto the outside panels and is also welded to the interior surfaces of theinboard panels 16. Walls 24 of the channel members 22 extend furtherfrom the respective flanges 28 than walls 26. The disparity in height ofthe two channel member walls 24, 26 facilitates bending in the course ofa cold forming process for manufacturing the channel members 22. Havingthe high wall 24 positioned against the outboard panel 14 strengthensthe outboard panel and also makes it easier to weld because the presenceof the smaller wall 26 does not materially inhibit access when the wall24 is being welded to the outboard panel 14.

Each channel form stiffener is welded in a position laterally at thecenter of the associated outboard panel 14 by means of a fillet weld atits base and a series of button or plug welds through spaced 5/16″diameter circular apertures in walls 24 of the channel members. Thesheet steel panel is welded to the channel members 22 and the inboardpanels 16 throughout its height by a series of button welds made atquarter inch diameter circular apertures 30 in the panel 20, the buttonwelds spaced from the floor by distances of 2, 12, 30, 54, 78 and 102inches, the smaller spacing at the bottom being to combat higherstresses at the bottom of the container when it is full. Button weldsare an important structural element of the intermodal containerconversion because they provide a controllable technique offering goodpenetration to the corrugated container wall while providing a reducedrisk of burn damage compared with other welding techniques. Thepreferred welding process is MIG welding in spray mode with a 0.035 mmmetal core wire, a Praxair® MIG MixGold™ Gas (argon/CO2 mix), a 350 wirefeed speed, and 24V setting. These conditions consistently provide afull penetration weld without burning through the outside wall. Clearly,different welding techniques and materials can be utilized to achievewall reinforcement using the panels 20 and channel members 22 asdescribed. It is desirable however, to use a process and materials toobtain a strong welding pattern quickly and without burning through theouter wall of the intermodal container.

For supply convenience, the sheet steel panel 20 is formed from twopanels each 4 to 5 feet in width laid on edge so that together they spanan eight foot height plus interior height of the intermodal cubecontainer. Spacing between edges of adjacent areas of steel panel,whether horizontal or vertical, is made as small as possible andcertainly less than 2 inches. This is important because when theintermodal container is used as a liquid container, for someinstallations, an inch thick insulating polystyrene layer 32 is fixed byadhesive to the inner face of the reinforcing sheet steel panels andthen a flexible, liquid-tight liner 34 is arranged over and secured byadhesive foam caulking to the insulating layer 32. The pressure ofliquid in a full tank or container is so high that if the gap betweenadjacent sections steel panel 20 is too large, the pressure of thecontained liquid would deform and press the liner 34 and insulatinglayer 32 into the gap and possibly damage one or both of the liner andinsulation. If no insulation layer is required, it is still importantthat the panels are fitted closely together to minimize the chance ofliner damage. In this case, the liner is attached directly to the steelwall with seams being taped to protect the liner from any sharp edges.In this case, the panel to panel space is preferably less than a quarterinch.

It will be seen that the method for reinforcing an intermodal containerwall adds strengthening material only to the inside of the container,with the outside dimensions of the container remaining unchanged afterthe reinforcing is complete. This means that, after reinforcing, thecontainer continues to meet the outside dimensional requirements of theISO 6346 standard for that length of container. The internal width ofthe container wall is reduced by only a small amount. The illustratedstrengthening structure has flanges extending at substantially 90degrees to the general plane of the intermodal container wall, theflanges joining outboard container panels to inboard flat members whichare joined to the inboard container panels. Compared to the unreinforcedwalls, this container wall structure is considerably less prone tobending when the container is filled with water. It will be appreciatedthat the reinforcing structure can be altered somewhat withoutcompromising the reinforcing properties and while using the principlesinherent in the illustrated design.

As indicated previously, a converted intermodal container is used as aprocessing tank for storing or treating water. Processing may take anyof a number of forms depending on the nature of the untreated waterinput and the desired nature of the treated water output. Suchprocessing predominantly occurs inside the tank but requires inputs tothe tank and outputs from the tank. In one embodiment of the invention,as illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 7, interface components for the tank inputsand outputs are mounted and sealed at ports in a process wall 64. Theinputs and outputs include, but are not limited to, any of air lines,visual and electronic monitoring, cleaning ports, motors, sensors, powersources, power cables, communication cables, piping, viewing access,sampling access, vent access, solid effluent extractor, and accesshatches. Particularly for servicing processing equipment below thedesign level of water to be processed in the container tank, the portsare located at a lower level in the process wall. Particularly forrouting communication and power cables, ports are located at a processwall upper level. In this specification, components that are used inwater processing and need an interface with the water being stored ortreated are generally referred to as process components. Components thatare used in providing communication and power to the tank interior aregenerally referred to as utility components.

The process wall 64 is located at the front end of the convertedcontainer tank (FIG. 1), where water to be treated enters the tank. Acorresponding process wall 70 (FIG. 2) is sited where treated waterexits the tank at the back wall of the tank. This arrangement isconvenient for plants in which several container tanks are deployed as a“train” with each tank functioning as one module of the site processingoperations. Communication/power cabling and piping run into the frontend and out of the back end of an upstream container tank so thatdownstream tanks in the train can be serviced by common systems. It willbe appreciated that a process wall or walls can be installed at otherlocations such as the top wall of the container tank. Furthermore,whereas in a train of tanks, it may be convenient to site process andutility components at separate input and output process walls, inputsand outputs for a particular processing equipment can alternatively belocated at a single process wall, with the associated processingequipment configured as a circuit in the container tank.

Referring in detail to FIGS. 5 to 7, the process wall 64 is designed tobe installed near the front end of the container tank as shown in FIGS.8 and 9. The process wall 64 has side panels 65, a hinged, outwardlyswinging manual access hatch 68, and ports 66 to enable mounting ofcomponents forming elements of the servicing and processing sub-systems.At the rear end of the container, the rear process wall 70 is mounted toa corresponding flange 76 a defining an aperture 79 in the end wall 8,the rear process wall being used for accommodating correspondingcomponents for “through” services and for providing a rear manual accesshatch. A standard intermodal container is modified as illustrated withrespect to FIG. 8 to enable attachment of the process wall 64. Thestandard container has two floor-to-roof doors 6 in its front endenabling loading and unloading of the container. In the modifiedintermodal container shown in FIG. 9, stub walls 72 are welded to thecontainer sidewalls, floor and roof to create a bulkhead structure about12 inches along the container sidewall from the doors 6. The junction ofthe stub walls 72 with the container side walls 4 are strengthened bycompression ties 74. The bulkhead structure defines a process wallaperture 77 at which a flange 76 formed at a margin part 63 of thebulkhead structure bounding the aperture 77 faces into the interior ofthe container tank, the flange 76 having bolt holes for attachment ofthe process wall 64. As shown in FIG. 5 the process wall 64 has boundarypart 81 a having bolt holes for alignment with holes in the flange 76 toenable the process wall 64 to be bolted to the flange 76 using outwardlyextending bolts 65 as shown in FIG.10. The process wall 64 is made fromquarter inch thick carbon steel or eighth inch thick stainless steel andhas angle bar strengthening as shown at 78 (FIG. 7) to combat pressureof water in the filled container tank. It is set in place from insidethe container tank. The process wall 64 can be removed as a singlestructure to enable access to the interior of the tank, when emptied,for repair and servicing if such repair and servicing cannotsatisfactorily be achieved using the access hatch 68. The rear processwall 70 has a boundary part 81 b having bolt holes (not shown) foralignment with holes in the flange 76 a to enable the process wall 70 tobe bolted to the flange 76 a.

It is important that the flexible liner 34, to be described in detailpresently, is effectively sealed, both over the full extent of the linerand where the liner tub part terminates at the process wall 64. Thelatter is achieved by sandwiching a margin part 101 a of the linerbounding an aperture 100 a in the liner (FIG. 25, 26) between theprocess wall 64 and the flange 76. As can be seen in FIGS. 10 and 11,the mounting for the process wall 64 is designed with the object ofpreventing leakage from the container tank. On the inside of the processwall 64 are a gasket 67 and, optionally, a paired one inch thickpolypropylene spacer 71 and polyvinyl chloride sheet outside liner 73.The optional secondary liner 73 is installed against the container wallsand provides secondary leakage protection for the tank in the event thepolypropylene liner 34 were to fail as a result, for example, of theliner being accidentally punctured. The spacer 71 provides one inch ofinsulation between the inner and outer liners 34, 73 in thoseinstallations where there is such an outer liner. With the foam spacerlayer 71 and the polyvinyl chloride sheet secondary liner 73, the chanceof water leakage to the outside of the converted container is minimized.On the outside of the process wall 64 are a gasket 75 and series ofprotective steel plates 69, the backs of which are welded to the headsof underlying bolts 65, the plates 69 acting to prevent leakage throughthe bolt threads.

To enable easy installation of the process wall 64, a diagonallyextending bar 80 is attached to the outside of the process wall with ahook 82 at the balance point of the wall. This enables the process wall64 to be suspended by a crane arm, carried into the interior of thecontainer tank, and then manually manoeuvered into a position where itcan be bolted into place without the need to expend significant force.It is important that the process wall is manoeuvered without tearing theflexible liner 34 which would be a risk if the wall has to be moved bymanual lifters working inside the container tank. An aperture 79 in therear wall 8 is similarly configured with a flange to allow installationin a similar manner of a smaller process wall containing an inspectionhatch and service/process components.

Certain processing equipment may, in operation, be immersed in the tankwater and for such processing equipment, associated process componentssuch as sensors and inspection ports may be mounted at a process levelso that they interface with the water in the tank. Other services suchas communication and power do not need a direct interface with thecontained water and are mounted away from the water contained in thetank.

Processing of water in the tank may be any of a number of formsdepending on the nature of the untreated water input and the desirednature of the treated water output. Processing equipment in the tankinterior may include, but is not limited to, any of bubbling equipment,scrubbing equipment, clarifying equipment, stripping equipment andmixing equipment, although it will be understood that a convertedintermodal container according to one embodiment of the invention can beused simply for water storage in which case there may be no interiorprocessing equipment. The equipment may include, but is not limited to,any of units and/or structures such as submersible pumps, strippingpacking media, tubular media for clarification, air bubblers, venturemixers, diffuser piping, distributors and platforms for supportingpacking.

In known heavy duty carbon steel tanks, the processing equipment issupported on heavy duty support members that are welded to the tankwalls. In the present invention, because a flexible liner is used,welding interior supports to the fabric of the tank is not acceptablebecause it would require the liner to be punctured at a number of placeswith some of the puncture sites being below the design level of water tobe stored or processed in the tank. This, in turn, would requireexpensive sealing arrangements and would entail a high risk of leakage.It is important that the flexible liner is not punctured either duringmanufacture of the tank or, later, during provisioning, transport anddeployment for water treatment.

Various embodiments of support arrangements are shown in FIGS. 12 to 24.Each of the support arrangements includes a suspension assembly 124 asshown in greater detail in FIGS. 12 to 17. The assemblies 124 are usedwithout material adaptation or addition to suspend relativelylightweight components such as communication and power cables. Thesuspension assemblies are also used, in combination with supportassemblies which engage the floor of the converted intermodal containertank, to support heavy processing equipment within the water.Embodiments of such heavy duty support arrangements are illustrated inFIGS. 18-24.

Referring in detail to FIGS. 12 and 13, there is shown the roof 12 of aconverted intermodal container, the roof formed with a stamped patternof corrugations 84. Threaded nuts 86 are welded at apertures formed inreinforcing channel bars 88 and the bars are then welded at locations tooutboard panels 90 of a number of the corrugations 84. The reinforcingbars 88 project of the order of one inch downwardly beyond the planeoccupied by the inner surfaces of inboard corrugation panels 92 of thecontainer roof 12. By fitting the reinforcements at the outboard panels90, strong joists are provided without materially affecting the insideintermodal container shipping height. One inch thick insulation 32 isthen applied to the roof 12 except at the positions of the reinforcingbars 88 to bring the roof to a common level for subsequent applicationof a liner cap part 96. Certain of the nuts 86 provide anchor points forattaching and supporting the liner cap part 96 at special gasketassemblies as shown in FIGS. 14-17. Other of the nuts are used tosuspend threaded bolts 126 forming part of suspension assemblies asshown in FIGS. 14-17.

While other forms of reinforcing element can be welded to the top wallof the intermodal container, the channel bar illustrated is preferred asit extends across the full length of the container top wall enablingeven positioning of the liner anchor points across the top wall andpermitting mounting of suspension assemblies at selected positions inthe converted intermodal container tank.

In each suspension assembly, a suspension bolt 126 is first screwed upinto, and anchored at, one of the nuts 86. The nut and bolt combinationscan be configured to provide any of several functions. All of the nut 86and bolt 126 combinations are used to support the liner cap part 96 fromthe top wall. Secondly, some of the nut 86 and bolt 126 combinationsprovide a securing mechanism for use in making a seal between a linertub part 98 and a liner cap part 96 as will be described with respect toFIG. 27. Thirdly, some of the combinations can be part of suspensionassemblies 124 used for supporting heavy processing equipment atselected locations and depths in the tank. Finally, some of thecombinations can be part of suspension assemblies incorporating bracketstailored for supporting relatively lightweight components such ascommunication and power cabling, piping, etc., within a top region ofthe converted container.

One form of suspension assembly as illustrated in FIGS. 12 to 17 has thecentral bolt 126 clamped against the liner cap part 96 and thereinforcing bar 88 by a lock nut 91, washer 93 and gasket 95. A circularplate 97 with depending annular flange 99 is placed over the anchoredbolt 126 so that the plate 97 bears against the surrounding part of theliner cap part 96 and the reinforcing bar 88. A slotted plate 101 isslid from the side over the exposed part of the bolt 126 and is boltedagainst the flange 99. A lower element of the suspension assembly has areducing union 103. The reducing union 103 is screwed onto the threadedstud 126 to a desired vertical position and is then locked in positionwith locknut 105. The lower part of the suspension assembly 124 isadapted for use with a support arrangement, alternative forms of whichare shown in FIGS. 18 to 20 and in FIGS. 21 to 24. In use, when theunion 103 is turned, it threads onto the stud 126 and moves down,applying a compressive load on the bracket 111 providing a rigidsupport.

As an alternative to the nuts 86, the reinforcing bar can be formed witha horizontal section with areas of relatively increased thickness, thethicker sections being bored and internally threaded to provide directanchor points in the reinforcing bar 47 for installation of suspensionassemblies 124. Other forms of roof fixtures for the suspensionassemblies are possible. In one alternative, a spring biased clampingmechanism (not shown) can be used having an upper fixture member withspring-actuated clamping elements mounted to the reinforcing bars abovean entrance aperture in the bars. The lower fixture member is acylindrical stud having a lower threaded part and an upper wider partshaped to cooperate with the spring clamping members. At installation,the lower fixture member is pushed up through the entrance aperture toforce the clamping elements apart until the stud reaches a lockingposition at which the clamping elements are forced back towards eachother by the spring action to clamp the stud in position. The wider partof the stud can for example be the shape of a ball with the clampingelements presenting a claw-shaped holder.

A suspension assembly of the form shown in FIGS. 12 to 17 can be used tosupport relatively lightweight components that are housing in theinterior of the tank but are above the design level of water to becontained in the tank. Examples of such lightweight components includecommunication and power cables which, in conventional water treatmenttanks, are normally taken along the exterior of the tank. This presentsa problem in converted intermodal containers if it required that thecontainer be shipped in a state in which the outside dimensions arecompliant with the relevant ISO 6346 standard.

In a converted tank according to an embodiment of the invention, theprovisioned tank has a duct 87 (FIG. 8) suspended near the top wall by aseries of the suspension assemblies 124. The duct 87 supports utilitiessuch as communication and power cables so that the cables run from theprocess wall at the front of the tank, through the tank to the processwall at the other end of the tank. The duct housing prevents the utilitycables from being exposed to water or vapor from the interior of thetank. If warranted, the duct can have multiple internal chambers toavoid electrical interference between the cables or the cables can berun through more than one duct. When the provisioned convertedintermodal container is being shipped to a deployment destination,because there are no extraneous leads on the outside of the container,it means the container is still of standard intermodal container heightand therefore can be transported with other standardized containers.Moreover, the utility cable housings enable easy deployment of convertedintermodal container tanks in a concatenated train for largerinstallations.

A suspension assembly can alternatively be configured as a heavier dutystructure to suspend heavier processing equipment within the tank.However, for heavy equipment which may be subjected to vibration anddynamic loads during shipping, a different support arrangement ispreferred in which a compressive force is applied down through thesupport assembly so that the anchor point at the top wall issupplemented by a pressure engagement between the support assembly andthe floor of the lined container.

One such support arrangement is illustrated in FIGS. 18-20. Thearrangement includes roof-mounted suspension assemblies as illustratedin FIGS. 12 to 17 together with several pairs of jack posts 108, eachpost being fixed to a respective suspension assembly. The posts of eachpair are spaced across the width of the reinforced container and thepairs may be distributed along the length of the container depending onwhere processing equipment is to be supported. The height of each post108 is adjustable at a screw mechanism 110. To protect the liner, bars112 and 114 are located at the top and bottom respectively of the jackposts and extend across the container tank. Each top and bottom bar 112,114 is positioned over a deformable neoprene spacer 116, and each topbar 112 is screwed to one of the joists 88. The jack posts 108 and thebars 114, 116 provide a means for mounting cross brackets, such asbrackets 118 at the top of the container and brackets 119 at the bottomof the container. Alternative support brackets arrangements may hangdirectly off the jack posts and be configured and located to support anyof various utilities or process components at desired heights in thecontainer. The jack post arrangement provides a stablesupport/suspension mechanism with the bars 112, 114 and the neoprenespacers 116 protect the integrity of the relatively fragile liner. Theutilities and process components supported by the support arrangementmay have elements that are routed through the container tank eitherabove the design level of water to be stored/processed in the tank orbelow the design level. As an example, FIG. 20 shows a pipe 120 mountednear the bottom of the container, the pipe 120 clamped to the brackets119 by U-bolts 117 and having a series of associated air diffusers 122.In some circumstances, one or more of the pairs of jack posts can bereplaced by a single jack post located near the center line of thecontainer.

An alternative embodiment of support arrangement is shown in FIGS.21-24. A lower part of the support assembly as shown in FIGS. 23, 24 hasvertical posts 107 and laterals 109 formed of U-channel unistrut. Thevertical posts 107 are bolted to angle brackets 111 which are mounted tothe bottom of suspension assemblies 124. At the bottom of the supportassemblies, a pair of sturdy molded plastic stools 113 stand on theliner 98 on the tank floor. The stools are fixed at lower brackets 115to the unistrut laterals 109. The laterals extend across the width ofthe tank but have their ends spaced from the sidewalls so as to minimizerisk of the unistrut damaging the sidewall liner sections. It will beseen that in this heavier duty arrangement, while the same top anchorarrangement is used, the support assemblies bear at multiple locationsagainst the floor of the container tank to provide greater stability forprocessing units to be supported in the tank interior.

The reinforced intermodal container with a suitable component supportarrangement is adapted for use in containing and processing wastewateror other liquid using a flexible liner in the interior of the container.The liner has a liner tub part 98 within which water to be treated is tobe contained when the tank is in use. An exemplary form of liner tubpart 98 is illustrated in FIG. 25 and is used to make the interior ofthe reinforced container watertight. A suitable material for the lineris reinforced polypropylene. The liner is 45 mil thick and weighs about3001 b. This material offers good breaking and tearing strength. Theliner material also has good water vapour permeance, hydrostaticresistance, puncture resistance, ozone resistance, linear shrinkage,resistance to water absorption, and breaking and tearing strengths. Theliner 98 is preformed into a tailored box form as illustrated in FIG. 25and then inserted through the front access hatch 68 in the process wall64 and manipulated into positioned against the interior surface of thecontainer tank.

As shown in FIG. 26, the liner tub part 98 is formed from a rectangle ofstock material. For a typical liner tub part, the rectangle is of theorder of 28 feet wide by 55 feet long. This may require factoryinstalled seams between narrower lengths of stock material. Therectangle of stock material is cut to form apertures 100 a and 100 b forthe front and rear process walls 64 and 70, respectively. The materialis folded upwardly from a base section at lines 102 where the materialhas previously been tooled to facilitate and localize folding. Excessmaterial at each corner is formed as an envelope fold 104 which isfolded back along the outer sides 106 of the box form and sealed againstthem. Although not shown in FIG. 26, at the top of the box liner, anupper marginal part is similarly folded back to produce smaller envelopefolds at each top corner which are similarly sealed against the linerbox sides. The structure is of particular value in the context of watercontainment in a reinforced modal container because, at the time ofinstallation, there is no requirement for field or hand sealed seams tobe made in the liner tub part.

To install the preformed liner tub part 98, it is folded out on thefloor of the container after welding and protective painting of themodified front and back walls is completed and after an optional inchthick layer 32 of polystyrene insulation has been attached by adhesiveover the complete interior of the container tank with foam ratedadhesive to secure it to the underlying metal walls. The container tanksidewalls are coated with adhesive and the liner tub part 98 is pressedagainst the sidewalls to locate it in position. Once the liner tub part98 is fixed in position, margin parts 101 a and 101 b surrounding theapertures 100 a and 100 b at the container tank ends are positioned overthe process wall flanges 76 in preparation for closing off the ends ofthe liner by installation of the process wall 64. At the top of thecontainer tank, as shown in FIG. 27, a liner cap part 96, cut to a sizeslightly smaller than the area of the top container wall is stuckagainst the top wall using adhesive. The liner tub part 98 has an uppersection which is folded inwardly at the top of the tank so that amarginal portion 115 overlaps a marginal portion of the liner cap part117. Parts of the overlapping margins 115, 117 are located onreinforcing bars 88 at the site of nuts 86. At these sites, theoverlapping margins 115, 117 are punctured and threaded studs 127 arescrewed into the underlying threaded apertures. Caulking compound 121 isapplied between the overlapping margins 115, 117 and an angle bar 123 isbolted over the join between the liner parts to provide a seal extendingthe full length of the overlap. It is important that the seal betweenthe two liner sections is watertight because any escape of liquid alongthe seam could permeate behind the liner 96, 98 and cause the walls 6, 8and the roof 12 to rust and deteriorate and cause water to collect andpool as a result of condensation. To this end, the inside diameter of agasket 127 is a friction fit on the outer diameter of the bolt 126 sothat when nut 129 is tightened against washer 128, gasket 127 issqueezed to decrease the inner diameter of the gasket and to seal itaround the threads of bolt 126. This ensures that moisture andcondensation inside the tank cannot leak through the hole in the linerparts and condense on the upper side of the liner. Similar gasketarrangements are used over the rest of the liner cap part but withoutusing the angle bar 123.

Other variations and modifications will be apparent to those skilled inthe art. The embodiments of the invention described and illustrated arenot intended to be limiting. The principles of the invention contemplatemany alternatives having advantages and properties evident in theexemplary embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. An intermodal container having a roof, a floor,vertical side walls and a vertical first end wall, the containerconverted for use as a tank for processing water with the roof, floor,side walls and first end wall forming a roof, floor, vertical side wallsand vertical first end wall of a tank, the tank having a vertical secondend wall opposed to said first tank end wall and fixed to the containerside walls, all the tank walls reinforced for enabling the tank to holdwater to be processed, a flexible liner for containing the water to beprocessed, the liner supported by the floor and mounted against the tankwalls, one of the tank walls having a first aperture therein with afirst margin part of said one tank wall bounding said first apertureformed with a first flange surface facing into the interior of the tank,the liner having a second aperture therein corresponding in position tothe position of the first aperture, and a first process wall detachablymounted to the first flange surface, with a second margin part of theflexible liner bounding the second aperture sealingly sandwiched betweena first boundary part of the mounted first process wall and the firstflange surface, and a first plurality of interface components mountedand sealed at ports in the first process wall to provide inputs to, andoutputs from, the tank interior.
 2. A container as claimed in claim 1,the interface components comprising first process components forinterface with water to be treated within the tank, the first processcomponents sealingly fixed into a lower part of the process wall to havean operational interface with water to be processed in the tank.
 3. Acontainer as claimed in claim 2, the interface components furthercomprising first utility components sealingly fixed into an upper partof the process wall for entry of any of communication cabling, powercabling and piping, the second components above a design level of waterto be processed within the tank.
 4. A container as claimed in claim 1,said one tank wall is an end wall, the other end wall of the tank havinga third aperture therein, a third margin part of said other tank endwall bounding the third aperture formed with a second flange surfacefacing into the interior of the tank, the liner having a fourth aperturetherein corresponding in position to the position of the third aperture,and a second process wall detachably mounted to the second flangesurface, with a fourth margin part of the liner bounding the fourthaperture sandwiched between a second boundary part of the mounted secondprocess wall and the second flange surface, and a second plurality ofinterface components mounted and sealed at ports in the second processwall to provide inputs to, and outputs from, the tank interior.
 5. Acontainer as claimed in claim 4, further comprising a duct extendingfrom the first process wall to the second process wall and located abovea design level of water to be processed within the tank, the ducthousing at least one of communication cabling, power cabling and piping.6. A container as claimed in claim 1, the tank walls having firstreinforcing for enabling water to be held in the tank to a design level.7. A container as claimed in claim 6, said one tank wall having secondrelatively heavier duty reinforcing of parts thereof bounding the firstaperture.
 8. A container as claimed in claim 1, the first process wallbolted to the first flange surface by a plurality of bolt and nutcombinations, heads of the bolts at the interior of the tank covered bya plate welded to the first process wall and sealing the boltconnections from the interior of the tank.
 9. A container as claimed inclaim 1, the liner formed from a single sheet of liner material byfolding for fitment at junction lines between the tank floor and thetank walls and by folding with envelope folds for fitment at lowercorners between adjacent walls.
 10. A container as claimed in claim 1,the liner made of reinforced polypropylene.
 11. A container as claimedin claim 9, the liner formed from a single sheet of liner material byfolding for fitment at junction lines between the tank roof and the tankwalls and by folding with envelope folds for fitment at upper cornersbetween adjacent tank walls.
 12. A container as claimed in claim 1,further comprising a frame member attached to the first process wall toenable balanced power-assisted insertion of the first process wallthrough the first and second apertures into the interior of the tank andsubsequent manual maneuvering into position for fixture of the firstprocess wall at the first flange surface.
 13. A container as claimed inclaim 1, the first plurality of interface components including a hatch.14. A container as claimed in claim 4, the second plurality of interfacecomponents including a hatch.
 15. A container as claimed in claim 1,further comprising an insulating layer intermediate the tank walls andthe liner.
 16. A container as claimed in claim 1, the container walls ofcorrugated form, the corrugations having outboard panels and inboardpanels joined by web portions, the tank walls formed by reinforcingsheet material welded to the inboard panels.